Jim Baird: “I want to thank my colleague from the State of Washington for allowing me to have the opportunity to participate in this…”

“I want to thank my colleague from the State of Washington for allowing me to have the opportunity to participate in this Special Order. Madam Speaker, I rise today on behalf of the communities and the residents of west central Indiana to share our experience with the Endangered Species Act. As an animal scientist and a farmer, I am a lifelong conservationist. I value the well-intentioned effort of the ESA to protect and conserve our Nation's most iconic species that define our landscapes and have shaped our heritage. Instead, however, I have repeatedly found myself discouraged with the implementation of this important act. As I shared here on the House floor a few weeks ago, Lakes Freeman and Shafer, near Monticello, Indiana, have been a popular tourist destination. It has been home to many small businesses, attractions, and a vibrant local economy for generations of Hoosiers. Unfortunately, though, a series of droughts and a tangle of bureaucratic red tape involving the ESA has made a devastating impact on this community. Following a listing on the endangered species list more than a decade ago of mussels found in the Tippecanoe River, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service subsequently ordered a new higher volume of water to consistently flow out of the Oakdale Dam that forms Lake Freeman, in an effort to preserve these now-protected mussels. This executive action by unelected bureaucrats has crippled our once-thriving community.…”